


to a bright future

by TheStarrySkiesOfPalaven



Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: F/F, Feelings Realization, the rest of the squad is there via text
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-27
Updated: 2020-04-27
Packaged: 2021-03-01 16:34:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,246
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23880148
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheStarrySkiesOfPalaven/pseuds/TheStarrySkiesOfPalaven
Summary: akira comforts ann as shiho leaves, but his words instead throw her for a loop.ortakamaki 'thinks and talks abt shiho 24/7' ann realizes some things.(based on ann's rank 9 confidant event)
Relationships: Suzui Shiho/Takamaki Ann
Comments: 4
Kudos: 87





	to a bright future

**Author's Note:**

> i havent even finished this game yet (still in mid-september on my 1st playthrough!!!) and i had to write smt bc shiho and ann!! are girlfriends!!!
> 
> (takes places somewhere between kaneshiro's and futaba's palaces)

"So..." Ann says haltingly, her tears flowing. "Stay healthy. Work hard, but not too much... and keep in touch. Just-- just take care of yourself... alright?"

It stings Akira's heart to see Ann in tears, but he still smiles in relief as Shiho hugs her tightly.

"Ann... I love you," she says, with the gentleness one would associate with a kitten, and Akira feels like the world's _biggest_ invader of privacy at that moment. Still, he's here to support one of his best friends, and that's what he's going to do. "Once I can smile again from the bottom of my heart, we'll see each other again; I promise."

"I-- I'll hold you to that, you know?"

"I know... take care, Ann."

And so, Suzui Shiho walks through the rooftop's access door, off to a new chapter in her life.

Ann wipes her tears clumsily, still sniffling and breathing heavily. Akira steps forward and gives her a hug of his own, and Ann hums gratefully. He tries to find the best words of comfort he can think of, and eventually decides on what to say.

"It'll all work out, Ann; don't worry."

"... I know. It's-- it's a little hard to believe right now, but I know it will. And... I know I'm not alone now; not anymore."

Akira pulls away, his hands on Ann's shoulders, and squeezes them comfortingly. "That's right. We're all here for you, Ann. _Always_."

Her answering smile is filled with so much melancholy and gratitude, and it spurs Akira on. "And... well, I know I'm not the best person to talk about... _anything_ regarding relationships, to be honest, but trust me when I say that you two got this."

Ann blinks, and looks at him curiously. "Huh?"

"You always hear about how hard long-distance relationships are in novels and manga and everything, but... as long as you two both want it to work, it will. Right?"

Whatever Akira expected to come from his attempts at comfort, it isn't how Ann freezes as if she's had a Bufu spell cast on her. Several moments pass, and she only stares at him with her eyes wider than saucers.

... For all the speculation and slander that Akira endures daily from the rumor mill about his mental faculties, he's _far_ from stupid. He's had his share of both pleasant and unpleasant epiphanies in his life to recognize one, and he connects the dots quickly enough to feel his own panic mount.

"Ann..." he says, shaking her shoulders slightly. " _Go after her_."

Another few moments pass as she stares and blinks at him, then she disappears in an almost ridiculously fast way; if this was an anime, Akira would be holding a puff of Ann-shaped smoke right now. The bang of the rooftop door opening and the thundering steps on the staircase are the only indicators that Ann was even here a moment ago.

He can only huff out a disbelieving breath, and chuckles to himself. He opens his phone, and pulls up Ann's messages.

_'i'll be waiting at leblanc!'_

And with a final sigh, Akira sets off back to Yongen-Jaya, and his new home.

* * *

> **bones o'clock** : hey guys i haven't seen ann after class is she ok?
> 
> **jokira** : yeah dw its just.
> 
> **jokira** : shiho left today.
> 
> **bones o'clock** : oh damn!!!!!
> 
> **Fox** : Oh, dear...
> 
> **bones o'clock** : that sucks bro...... :/
> 
> **Niijima Makoto** : I hope everything is alright!
> 
> **jokira** : i was there for moral support and it was. yeah.
> 
> **bones o'clock** : was ann ok when u left?
> 
> **jokira** : it's complicated.
> 
> **Niijima Makoto** : What do you mean?
> 
> **jokira** : i'll let her explain later!
> 
> **jokira** : but yeah... i think she's ok.

* * *

It's well into the evening hours when the bell above the cafe's door chimes, startling Akira from his book. Mona looks at the entrance, and lights up upon seeing Ann there.

"Lady Ann! Joker told me about your friend's departure! Are you alright?"

She says nothing until she sits across from the two of them in the central booth, and then buries her face in her hands and lets out a laugh that is both hysterical and deliriously happy all at once.

"I told myself I was done crying for today, but..." she chokes out. " _Thank you_."

Akira scratches the back of his neck in embarrassment. "No worries, Ann. I take it things went well?"

She laughs some more, and he pulls out his phone to text everyone the good news.

> **jokira** : ann's here. things are ok.
> 
> **Niijima Makoto** : That's a relief...
> 
> **Fox** : Very much so.
> 
> **bones o'clock** : hell yeah!!!
> 
> **takoyakiann** : Sorry for worrying everyone! I'm alright!
> 
> **bones o'clock** : it's ok ann!! but i AM dying to know what happened

Akira looks up at Ann's groan, and grins at her.

> **jokira** : well, ann. u gonna tell them or should i? >:)

Ann gives him a stink-eye, but she looks back at her phone.

> **takoyakiann** : I trust in your ability to embarrass me as much as possible.
> 
> **jokira** : thank u.
> 
> **jokira** : so. apparently ann wasn't dating shiho as we all thought.
> 
> **Niijima Makoto** : ... Excuse me?
> 
> **Fox** : That... doesn't seem possible.
> 
> **bones o'clock** : ????????? bro??????
> 
> **jokira** : apparently it took me comforting her about her now long-distance relationship for her to realize that oh, maybe she's a little bit in love with her best friend.
> 
> **takoyakiann** : Laugh it up.

There's a pause where both Akira and Ann look at the silent chat, before Ryuji decides to break it.

> **bones o'clock** : sorry i had to go and crack my ribs laughing. ann u do realize im going to hold this over u for the rest of our lives.
> 
> **takoyakiann** : Sigh.
> 
> **jokira** : she literally just said 'sigh' out loud.
> 
> **Niijima Makoto** : You have to admit Ann, this is very funny.
> 
> **Fox** : Indeed.
> 
> **Fox** : May I ask what happened, exactly?
> 
> **takoyakiann** : Well...
> 
> **takoyakiann** : I ran down the stairs like I was possessed and managed to catch Shiho just before she got into her family's car.
> 
> **takoyakiann** : I... may have just... went up and kissed her.
> 
> **takoyakiann** : And then started apologizing for being dumb and having the worst timing.
> 
> **Niijima Makoto** : Amazing.
> 
> **bones o'clock** : absolute worst timing
> 
> **takoyakiann** : I... well, she found it funny, too. Said it was SO like me to do this, but... she was happy, regardless. We agreed to talk about it more via video call, but...
> 
> **takoyakiann** : Guys.
> 
> **takoyakiann** : GUYS.
> 
> **jokira** : yes, ann.
> 
> **Fox** : Please, feel free to extoll your girlfriend's virtues. I can already see myself painting you two.
> 
> **bones o'clock** : maybe later, bro
> 
> **takoyakiann** : She said she loves me too!!!!
> 
> **takoyakiann** : I'm in LOVE.
> 
> **takoyakiann** : and she loves ME.
> 
> **Niijima Makoto** : Not terribly new information to us, but we're happy for you. :)
> 
> **jokira** : makoto........... you don't have to drag her like that.
> 
> **Niijima Makoto** : Perhaps.
> 
> **Niijima Makoto** : But I want to.
> 
> **bones o'clock** : oof... savage

The chat devolves into more teasing, and Akira and Ann sit there in silence as their friends continue to offer congratulations. Mona's tail swishes and his ears droop slightly as he reads, but he turns to Ann and speaks. "Congratulations, Lady Ann! I'm happy for you two."

She finishes replying to one of Ryuji's silly remarks, and smiles at the both of them. "I feel like a broken record, but... thank you _so_ much!"

Akira adjusts his glasses as he pretends to preen. "You're quite welcome."

A comfortable silence falls as they continue to talk with the rest of the Thieves, and Akira feels like the world, for all its bleakness, got a tiny little bit brighter today.


End file.
